OBN III
‘Third Time To Harm’
(Tic Tac Totally)
Austin garage rockers OBN take their name from frontman Orville Bateman Neeley, and take no prisoners on record. At first, ‘Third Time To Harm’ is a fairly straightforward beast, with the likes of ‘No Time For The Blues’ and ‘Uncle Powderbag’ barrelling along on surf guitars, squalling solos and an almost tangible sense of urgency, not to mention the man himself drawling like Iggy Pop’s bastard son. It’s enough to make you feel mightily envious of the good rock n’ roll lovers of Austin, who probably get to see these guys tear up local stages on a regular basis.
However, OBN III are just as effective when they’re not going hell for leather. Centrepiece ‘Queen Glom’ is a great slow burner, building from a languid chugging riff to a stomp-along chorus, whilst the organ-laden ‘Beg To Christ’ recalls the best work of much-missed Swedish crew The Hellacopters.
There’s something semi-evangelical about Neeley’s sneering delivery, and as cliched as this might sound, his is a band that seems to believe in rock n’ roll not just as music, but as religion. Here’s hoping you also see the light.
Alex Gosman